Metal-clad cables having a metal sheath potentially provide a low impedance and reliable ground path in order to function as an equipment grounding conductor. One type of such cable described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,486,395, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, contains a conductor assembly having at least two electrically insulated conductors cabled together longitudinally into a bundle and enclosed within a binder/cover. A bare grounding conductor is cabled externally over the binder/cover, preferably within a trough/interstice formed between the insulated conductors. In one type of metal-clad cable, the metal sheath is helically applied to form an interlocked armor sheath around the conductor assembly, and the bare grounding conductor is adapted to contact the sheath to provide the low impedance ground path.
However, in order to maximize the structural integrity of these and other types of cables, it is important that the conductors disposed within the metal clad cable be configured to withstand the various forces exerted on the cable during manufacturing, storage and/or installation. One solution is to enclose the conductors within the binder or cover to provide additional stability to the conductors disposed therein, especially additional strength against crushing forces. Another solution includes providing a talc powder around the conductors and beneath the binder/cover, providing a talc powder between the binder/cover and outer sheath and/or wrapping a Teflon wrap around each conductor (and talc, if present) prior to applying the binder/cover, in order to improve abrasion resistance, especially during flexing of the cable. However, cables having such configurations are costly to manufacture and can complicate manufacturing and field installation. For example, when terminating a cable, the binder/cover and Teflon wrap oftentimes remain exposed and must be separately cut or peeled away from the conductor assembly. This results in increased unnecessary material waste and increased labor costs.